


The Aftermath and Second Chances

by howtohold



Series: After Civil War [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 17:23:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howtohold/pseuds/howtohold
Summary: "I said we’d lose. You said, 'We’ll do that together too.' Well, guess what, Cap? We lost, and you weren’t there"You weren't there when my bump started to show. You weren't there when the labor started. You weren't there when Maria was born. You weren't there when the freaky Squidward alien attacked. You weren't there when Quill and the rest of the guys tried to take down Thanos.You weren't there when I lost the kid. You weren't there when I was dying of dehydration and malnourishment.-----------------------(Sequel to The Imitation. Set in the events of Endgame, sort of a fix-it.)





	The Aftermath and Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Endgame killed meeee ahhhhhh!!  
> I am seriously suffering from all the feels. But IronDad gave me life!
> 
> Anyway, here's the next installment.  
> It follows the events in Endgame but, I'm a sucker for happy endings.

_"Part of the journey is the end. What am I tripping for? Everything is going to work out exactly the way it's supposed to."_

He stares directly at the hologram, the soft blue light illuminates his face. He presses his hands together and takes a deep, shaky breath. He prepares himself for the next words he's about to hear.

_"I love you 3000."_

 

 

..........

  
......

...

.

  
**One Year Ago**

Steve strides faster towards the spaceship. His heart is racing. The feelings of hope combined with dread are rapidly filling out his lungs, making it harder to breathe.

When the door opens and his omega limps through it weakly, supported by a lady with a blue skin, he feels like he's drowning with so much relief. He rushes towards him.

And oh. _Oh, Tony._

He reeks of grief, of mourning. His scent triggers Steve's instincts and Steve's body sends out calming pheromones in return.

Tony looks at him gravely. His mouth pressed into a thin line. He lost so much weight and looks frighteningly fragile.

"I couldn't stop him" Tony tells him. A tinge of desperation in his voice.

"Neither could I." replies Steve.

"I lost the kid."

 _The kid_. For a second, Steve automatically thought of Maria but no. The kid that Tony was referring to wasn't _their kid._

It was the young man who fought in the airport at Germany. The one from Queens.

"Tony, we lost."

They stare at each other. There are _so much words left unsaid_ but neither of them could voice out what they want to say.

"Tony!"

Pepper moves past Steve and embraces Tony. He kisses her cheeks gently. The subtle scent of Maria clings to her and Tony holds her tighter.

 _Maria. She's safe._ Tony realizes. _His little girl is safe._

* * *

 

Tony listens as they discuss the aftermath of Thanos' snap. He stares blankly as they showcase the hologram of the heroes who have been dusted.

When Peter's face comes up, he swallows the bile that threatens to spill out of his mouth. His hands shakes.

_Oh, God. He lost the kid._

"Tony, you fought him--"

"Who told you that?" He cuts Steve. He feels frustration and anger bubbling inside him. He glares at the Alpha, and it all comes back to him. The moon thrown at his face, Thanos stabbing him with the very weapon he made, Strange saying there was no other way as he begins to fade--

**~~_(Mr. Stark? I don't feel so good.)_ ~~ **

"I didn’t fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while a Bleecker Street magician gave away the stone.That’s what happened. There was _no fight_."  
  
Tony lashes out. He lets his feelings roar. He thinks about Ultron. He thinks about that nightmare about his team--his family lying dead and defeated. He thinks about that nightmare where Steve blamed him and told him he _could have done more._

"I saw this coming a few years back, I had a vision, but I didn’t want to believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

Steve interrupts him.  
"Tony, I’m going to need you to focus--"

  
"And _I needed you_. As in, _past tense_." He thinks about Siberia, he thinks about the moment when he realized he was pregnant, he thinks about the imitation of Steve, the AI he built just so he could get through the pregnancy, he thinks about Maria being born and growing up with only Tony by her side, he thinks about the old ass phone Steve gave him along with the letter.

He thinks about fighting Thanos and _losing_.

_~~**(I don't want to go, please. I don't want to go, Mr. Stark.)** ~~ _

" That trumps what you need. It’s too late, buddy. Sorry."

~~_**(I'm sorry. I'm sorry.)** _ ~~

"You know what I need? I need a shave. And I remember telling you this…"

Tony stands up abruptly, and struggles to walk towards Steve. He wobbles and Rhodey rushes to aid him.

" _Tony, Tony, Tony-_ -" Rhodey attempts to calm him but he doesn't stop. He yanks his IV out.

"…that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious _freedom_ or not, that’s what we _needed_."

His fury is overflowing and he needs this. He needs to let this out. Otherwise, he feels as if he's gonna burst from sheer anger. Steve just stares at him and Tony's not sure if he wants to tear his own face out or tear Steve's face apart.

" Well, that didn’t work out, did it?"

"I said we’d lose. You said, ' _We’ll do that together too._ ' Well, guess what, Cap? We _lost_ , and _you weren’t there"_

_You weren't there when my bump started to show. You weren't there when the labor started. You weren't there when Maria was born. You weren't there when the freaky Squidward alien attacked. You weren't there when Quill and the rest of the guys tried to take down Thanos._

_You weren't there when I lost the kid. You weren't there when I was dying of dehydration and malnourishment._

His Alpha wasn't there when he needed him the most. He's pastly to blame, yes. But he's really just tired. Had enough of it all.

Tony acknowledges that having Carol was awesome. Having her here makes Tony feel like they have a chance even though he knows it won't end well. 

Unfortunately, it was too late.  
He doesn't want to do this anymore.  
Avengers? Save the Universe and Be Heroes? No. _What was the point? So that they could ultimately lose everything?_

He leans closer to his Alpha. To Maria's other father. He glares at him.

"I got nothing for you, Cap. I’ve got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero, zip, nada. No trust, _liar_."

Steve looks at him, hurt and in sorrow. Tony knows his scent is spilling like an Omega in distress and Biology often dictates that an Alpha should soothe their Omega. Scent them, cuddle them. Take them back to their nest.

But, whatever. _Whatever_. Nest? They don't even have that anymore.

Tony rips out his arc reactor and his body spasms. He grabs Steve's hand and shoves the reactor in his hands.

"Here, take this. You find him and you put that on. You hide"

He looks at him again. _Here, take my heart. You broke it once. Go break it again._

Then, he passes out.

* * *

 

Steve fiercely glares at the hologram as they finally pinpoint where Thanos is. It’s time. He’d do it right this time. They’ll do it right this time. For those who have fallen, for those who lost hope. (For Tony, for Maria, for Bucky)

“Let’s go get that son of a bitch”

Thanos will die.And the other half of humanity will live.

* * *

 

The stones are gone. All of the six stones.

_This-this can’t be true, right?_

Blood spills as Thor decapitates Thanos, and all Steve could think about is— _What now?_

 

_What do heroes do when the villain is dead and the damage cannot be undone?_

_What can they do when half of humanity still remains dusted?_

~~**_(I'm with you 'till the end of the line.)_ ** ~~

~~**_(Like the old man said, together.)_ ** ~~

_What happens now?_

.....

..

.

_Some people move on. Steve tells Natasha. But not us,_

_Not us._

* * *

Half a month later, the faint glimmer of hope returns to them in the form of Scott Lang. He’s _frantic:_ exclaiming wildly about Time Travel and undoing the Snap. Steve believes him.

 

But they need Tony. They need their team.

The question is, will they fight? Will they cling to this spark of hope like how Scott, Steve and Natasha do?

 

 _Whatever it takes._ Steve thinks. He wishes that the others agree.

 

“ _Mariiaaa~”_ Tony singsongs with a playful smile on his face.

 

“Dada!” The small girl paddled excitedly towards Tony and Tony picked her up. She giggles as her dad gently tucks away the stands of hair that covers her face.

“What did I tell you, baby?” Tony chides playfully and Maria stares at him with her big blue eyes. “We do not eat hair and we do not cover our _pretty face_.”

He kisses her cheeks and she giggles more.

“I wanna eat!” She exclaims in a high pitched noise, her tiny arms patting her belly.

“Oh, you’re hungry?” She nods several times.

“Well, what do you wanna eat?”

Maria pauses for a short while, her lips pouting in concentration. _Geez, no question where she got that habit from_. It is kinda adorable, actually.

 

“Cho’cate! I like cho’cate!”

Tony gasps exaggeratedly and her giggles turns into shrill laughter.

“Chocolate! But Auntie Peps ate all the chocolate!” Tony makes a show of turning his expression in a theatrical sad face.

“A’ti Pep! It’s-it’s ok!”

“Tell you what, we could get some cheeseburger. How ‘bout that, sweetheart?”

“I want! I want!”

“ _Fantastic_ choice—“

 

The faint roar of a car engine distracts him and as he turns his gaze towards the approaching car, he suddenly wants to run away.

“Dada?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Tony bounces her for a bit then puts her down. He crouches to her eye level and fixes her hair again. “Go inside, ask Auntie Pepper for the cheeseburger. Got that, honeybun?”

Maria nods and goes inside their home.

 

He hears the soft thunk of the car door closing and smells the familiar scent of his Alpha, along with a scent of a Beta and another Alpha.

 

“Tony.”

 

“Cap.”

 

Natasha gives a him a small nod, which he returns hesitantly. He sees Scott— _Ant-Man_. He realizes why they’ve come.

* * *

 

 

 _It turns out Scott is an utter whack job,_ Tony decides as he listens to him go on and on about Time Travel, or ‘Time Heist’ as Scott named it.

_He got lucky. Experimenting a time paradox is no fucking joke. He got lucky, that’s all._

 

_Is it really hopeless? What if...?_

No. No, nope, nah. Stop thinking, brain.

 

Tony declines to help them. He can’t risk it. He already lost one kid, he can’t lose another. _He just can’t._

As Scott and Natasha head back to their car, Steve takes the opportunity to talk to Tony, to try and convince him once more.

“Tony, I get it. And I’m happy for you. I really am.” Steve hesitates but continues, “Maria’s a wonderful girl.”

“She is. Of course, she is.” _She’s our daughter_ goes unsaid.

They share a quiet moment, looking at each other. They hear the faint twinkling laughter of Maria and Pepper.

Tony catches Steve smiling when they hear her precious laugh.

“This could be our second chance.” Steve offers. _Gosh, he misses that optimism so bad. But..._

 

“I can’t.” Tony says quietly and then, “I got my second chance right _here_ , _with Maria_. I can’t roll the dice again, Steve.”

 

 _I wanted you to be a part of my second chance,_ he wants to say. _But I guess, life goes on._

* * *

 

After dinner, he stares at the picture of Peter while his head is buzzing with a solution to stabilize the Time Paradox.

* * *

Later, he finds himself working with a theory that’s been chewing on his brain after Steve and the others’ visit.

 

 _Anthony Stark, you juuust can’t help it._ He scolds himself.

 

It turns out that the theory he had is not only possible, but it is complete and it is safe and it pretty much confirms their chances of surviving the Time Heist.

 

“ _Shit_!” Tony exclaims in disbelief and once again, hope is crawling up his throat.

 

“ _Shit_.” A tiny voice echoes.

 

Tony jerks his head in surprise. Oh no.

 

Maria's sitting on the sofa, smiling innocently after she echoed his curse word. Steve is going to kill him. Also, Pepper. Also, Rhodey. Holy shit.

 

And Holy shit. They can reverse _everything_.

* * *

 

Steve isn’t sure if he wants to cry out loudly or scream at the top of his lungs when he sees a familiar black Audi driving by.

The way Tony drives is making Steve worry. But hell, he kinda wants to run towards the car and hug his Omega so tight.

The car stops in front of him, and Tony rolls his window down to stare at Steve.

 

Tony’s scent no longer bears the powerful anger and grief it previously had when they reunited. It was not entirely gone but it was muted and barely there.

Maria’s scent clings to his skin and Steve wants to _savor_ it.

“Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it.”

_I hate hating you._

Steve gives a small smile. “Me too”

_I never stopped loving you._

———————————-

When Tony displays the devise he created which would help them in the Time Heist, Steve finds himself falling in love once again.

——————————-

At night, Steve gathers his courage to pass by Tony’s room. Just to see if he’s still up ~~(of course he’s up, you’re his Alpha and you know each other too well)~~.

 

He sees the glow of a soft blue light and hears the sound of childish laughter. Oh.

 

He steps closer to Tony’s door but not close enough that Tony could sense that he was there. He listens. Tony will hate him for eavesdropping but he can't pull away from the temptation to hear his child.

 

“I love you tons.” Tony softly says.

 

“I love you t’wee t’wowsa’d!”

 

Tony’s laughter bounces of the walls. Steve smiles fondly.

 

“Wow! Three thousand. _That’s craaazy_.” Tony remarks and Maria giggles along.

 

“By the way, who taught you that number, pumpkin?”

 

“Un’c Wow’di!”

 

Steve longs for this. He longs to be part of this. He doesn’t wanna miss out on his daughter’s life.

 _Things will get better_ , he convinces himself. _After the snap is undone and Thanos gone, he’ll have this. They’ll have this._

* * *

 

Steve was eating alone in the kitchen when Natasha comes in.

“Hey.”

 

“Morning, Nat.”

 

She opens the fridge and gets the milk. She gets a bowl, a spoon, and the box of Fruit Loops.

 

“This is her favorite, you know.” comments Nat, as she pours the cereal to her bowl.

“Her?” asks Steve.

“Your daughter.”

“Ah.”

 

Natasha returns the milk and the cereal and sits down opposite Steve.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He’s not accusing her. Just genuinely curious.

“It’s not my place to tell you.” She replies. “Besides, you knew.”

Steve shrugs. “I trust Tony.”

~~_**(No trust. Liar.)** _ ~~

He shakes his head at the painful memory. No, they moved past that.

 

“Then, why didn’t you go to him?” Nat asks.

“I wanted the decision to come from him.” Steve looks away from Natasha. “I don’t think I have the right to barge in on his life, demanding forgiveness.”

 

They are silent for a moment. Until Natasha speaks again.

 

“So, what now, Steve?”

“We’ll do this right. This time, _together_.” Natasha smiles at him.

 

_Whatever it takes._

* * *

“She’s sleeping right now.” Pepper informs Tony through the phone. “How are things?”

“We’re about 94% ready for our ‘Back to the Future’ escapade.” Pepper snorts at him and shakes her head a bit.

“Are you getting enough rest?”

“I actually slept for five hours straight yesterday, Pep. I’m good.”

“Eight hours of sleep is still better, Tony.”

“I miss my soft bed. if I do have that, I’ll sleep for 24 hours.”

 

“Have you spoken with Steve?” Pepper drops on him. Talking about his alpha is still a bit difficult. But even before Pepper didn't really hold back from tackling about Steve.

 _About what?_ He wants to retort, to play dumb. But Pepper would only get frustrated with him and they don’t need that stress right now. Especially since she is only asking because she worries.

 

“I told him I don’t want to be bitter anymore.”

“Oh, Tony—!”

“We are on a truce right now. And things are not as awkward anymore.”

Pepper sighs. “That’s progress, I think. How about your supressants? Still have enough supply?"

“Pep, it’s fine. Don’t worry too much. I have my meds. Plus, I don't even have heats anymore."

 

Honestly, Pepper acts like his mom most of the time. He loves her for staying by his side, even after all these years. His heats were irregular ever since he had Maria but lately it seems it have completely stopped. He still has suppresants with him, he even takes them just as a precaution. 

 

“It's still better to be prepared, just in case. You better not be _pregnant_ again by the time your mission’s over.” She teases.

 

Tony chokes, caught by surprise at what Pepper is implying.

“ _Pep_!”

* * *

 

 

“Still, it kinda weirds me out that the last time I saw you, you and Steve were all _lovey-dovey_. Now, you’re divorced and have two year old girl.”

 

Natasha grins at Bruce as Tony scoffs. They were all lying on the table, huddled closely together.

 

“Oh, please. We weren’t _lovey-dovey_. We are so not married. We argued all the time!”

 

Natasha and Bruce shared a look and raised their brows at Tony.

 

“I saw you in the elevator, swallowing each other’s tongue.” Bruce counters playfully.

 

“Remember when I walked on you at the kitchen?” Natasha adds.

 

Tony rolls his eyes at them, trying to cover up his flushed face. _Gosh, that was years ago!_

 

“The media is still speculating about Maria and who got you up the duff. It’s so obvious it’s Cap.”

 

“Speaking of which—have you seen this viral video?” Natasha pulls out her phone and types quickly. She scrolls through videos and finally finds the one she’s searching for.

 

“Watch this.”

 

She hands them her phone and plays the video. The song 'Mamma Mia' starts to play. It seems normal except for the fact that:

  1. _Tony’s face is superimposed on Meryl Streep._
  2. _Rhodey’s face is superimposed on Stellan Skarsgård._
  3. _Dr. Strange’s face is superimposed on Colin Firth._
  4. _Steve’s face is superimposed on Piers Brosnan._



_What the hell_.

Bruce is guffawing by the time the video ends and Natasha is laughing along with him. Tony gives the phone back to Natasha and promptly shoves the two of them.

“Stop it! First of all, why is the wizard even there? We just met recently!”

“He’s an Alpha with blue eyes, I guess?” Bruce reasons out, struggling it keep his laughter down.

“Then, why Rhodey?”

“He’s been by you side since forever—why are you asking us? We don’t know how these people think!” answers Natasha. Bruce starts laughing again.

 

“Who even makes these stuff?”Tony grumbles.

* * *

 

The moment for their mission arrives and with all of them wearing scent blockers, no one could really tell what the others were feeling. Tony thinks they are all aware how grave this mission is.

 

When Steve makes a grand speech to motivate the team, Tony smirks at him fondly and finds himself falling in love again—

 --Actually, He never stopped.

* * *

 

They failed to secure the Tesseract in 2012. Luckily, they still have the 1970s.

 

“Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

* * *

 

 

Steve freezes as he realizes that he’s in Peggy’s office. He looks around and sees her photo, still beautiful as ever. The rustling from the other room catches his attention and then, he sees her.

 

He sees Peggy.

 

He moves closer to the binds, just staring at her. Wondering about what could have been. He still loves her, although not quite the way he did before.

* * *

 

Tony is conflicted on what to feel after talking with his dad. It was upsetting, knowing that his dad wanted to be a good parent but something wrong happened along the way and _viola, look how Tony turned out._

But, at the very least, he learned something new about Howard. It felt a bit like _closure_.

 

He heads towards Steve. They go back to find their Time Heist gear.

* * *

 

“Ready to go, Cap?”

 

When he doesn’t receive a reply, he turns around and looks at Steve. He was acting a bit odd, Tony noticed.

 

“Cap? Steve?”

“I saw Peggy.”

 

Ah. Yes. _Her_. Of course, Steve is bound to reunite with her. After all, this was a military base and Peggy and his father were very prominent in the military.

 

“How is she?” asks Tony gently. He knows how much she meant to him. Tony doesn't resent her. She was an inspirational woman.

“Still beautiful as ever.” says Steve, with a wistful look on his face. He tries to conjure up a smile, but it comes out as a grimace.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” comforts Tony, “No need to force yourself to act casually. You love her and you always will.”

Steve breathes shakily and nods his head. Tony understands him.

 

“Saw my old man too. Even chatted with him for a bit.” Steve turns to gawk at him but Tony waves his hand. “It’s fine. I am alright.”

 

“Tony—“

 

“It felt like, closing a book. Like _finally, I understand_.” Tony shrugs then adds, “It doesn’t erase what he did but at least, I learned that he started out good.”

 

Steve doesn’t add anything.

 

“Life doesn’t often go the way you planned it to be but..” Tony pauses, “we get to have a choice,”

 

“Steve, I want you to know, that you'll always have a choice.”

 

Steve tenses up at Tony’s words.

 

“I know you gave me the freedom to decide whether to forgive you or not. And I’m also giving you this: the freedom to choose how you live your life.”

 

“Tony, what are you saying...?” Steve looks at him, an unreadable expression on his face. The next part is difficult, but Tony has to do this. He pushes through.

 

“You don’t have to continue being my Alpha if you don’t want to.”

 

“Tony—“

 

“ _Listen, Steve_. I know we have a child. But I also know, that before me, there’s _Peggy_. There’s _Bucky_."

Steve was a man from the past, woke up in th future, fell in love, bonded. They fell apart, broke up, and along the way, Maria's born. But it doesn't and won't ever erase the reality that Steve had a lived a life before he was forced by fate--or whatever, to be yanked out of 40s and in to the future.

 _Time travel works_. This was the chance to return Steve back to his time, his world. And besides that, there's also Bucky, the only other man who knew what it felt like to be the man out of time.

It hurts like a fucking train wreck whenever Tony contemplates over the what ifs. What if they managed to save Bucky? What if Steve just told him the truth earlier? What if the Avengers never fell apart? 

What if they weren't bonded when they discovered that time travel is possible?

 

Would Steve chose to stay?

 

"You had a _life_ before you got frozen and became the man out of time.” Tony clenches his jaw tightly. God, this stings so fucking bad. He wants to cry but he can't. This isn't about him. This is for Steve.

“To make it simple, I want you to know that you are _free_. That it’s ok if you want to be with Peggy or with Bucky or with anyone you like.”

 

Steve lets Tony finish. Then, he strides towards him and embraces him.His omega goes rigid for a second but relaxes immediately.

 

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve mutters sincerely. He lets him go, but places his hand on Tony’s cheek. Steve looks him in the eye and smiles, his blue eyes misty.

 

“ _I choose you_.” Steve breathlessly declares. “ _I love you, Tony, and if you’ll have me back, I promise to love you for the rest of my life.”_

 

Tony lets out a small gasp and tears start to fall from his eyes.  _Oh_ , _oh_. Something inside him starts to sing. He's so overwhelmed. But he's always been shit at dealing with emotions and snark is his best armour.

Steve adds hastily, “I mean, even if we don’t get back together, I will still love—mmph!” 

 

Tony embraces him tightly then, kisses his Alpha hard.

* * *

...

.

Natasha was gone. She sacrificed her life for the Soul Stone. _She’s gone, just like that._

 

Clint is enraged, and suffering from so much grief. They all are. He says it should have been _him_.

 

“Why are we acting like she’s dead?” Thor asks. “We have the stones, right? We can bring her back.”

 

Clint argues with him, insisting that the red floating guy told them this was permanent. But Thor refuses to accept that, standing by his theory that not all hope is lost for Nat. And it lights a fire in them, that they’ll see her again.

 

“We’re the _Avengers_ , get it together!” exclaims Thor.

 

Maybe, _just maybe_ , everything will be alright. Natasha will be back and so will half of humanity.

* * *

 

They go on with their mission, the gauntlet is complete. 

* * *

 

Bruce sacrifices his arm to use the gauntlet and to undo what Thanos did.

 

They’re not sure if it worked perfectly because the big purple alien _crashed_ into their headquarters.

..

.

When their situation becomes dire and all hope is lost, orange lights appear and portals open.

 

Help has arrived.

 

“Avengers, Assemble!”

* * *

 

It was _breathtaking_. If they weren’t in a do-or-die situation, Tony would take a breather and soak in the sights of different heroes united against Thanos.

 

And then, he sees the kid. _Oh, oh Jesus._

 

“ _Holy cow_. You will not believe what’s been going on. Do you remember when we were in space, and I got all dusty? I must’ve passed out, because I woke up, and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? He was like, 'It’s been five years. Come on, they need us!' And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time—“

 

Tony embraces Peter tightly. He looks at him in awe, with so much goddamn relief. _Oh, fuck. He’s here, he found him._

~~_**(And if you die, I feel like that’s on me.)** _ ~~

 

“What are you doing? This is nice.” Peter tells him. He holds him tighter, presses a kiss on the side of his head.

 

The kid is saved.

________________________

Tony glances at Dr. Strange. He stares back at Tony and raises a finger, _one out of fourteen million_. One.

 

Tony thinks of everyone, of his parents, of the Avengers, of Pepper, of Rhodey, of Happy, of Steve,

 

He thinks of Maria and Peter. Then, he concludes, that _hey_ , he got his happy ending: Steve chose to love him, Peter is alive, Maria is growing well.

 

But if he can’t defeat Thanos, if he can’t save them, then what's the point?

If he can’t defeat Thanos, there would be no chance for others to live out their lives and work for their own happy endings.

 

 _His life for countless of others, an easy bargain_.

 

So he gets the stones, wears the gauntlet.

 

“I am...”

 

~~_**(I love you t’wee t’wowsa’d!)** _ ~~

~~__ ~~

“...Iron Man”

 

He snaps his fingers with all his might.

Everything goes white.

 

 

............

 

 

......

 

...

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I want a cheeseburger.”

 

He says, his voice comes out scratchy and his throat felt dry. As if he didn’t speak for years, which was weird because he never shuts up.

 

“ _Daddy_!!”

 

A shrill voice pierces his ears. He gives a small ‘oof’ as the little girl jumps on the side of the bed. He smiles brightly at his daughter.

 

“Hello, honeybun.”

 

He hugs her and takes in her scent. He notices something foreign mixed with her scent. Maria also grew her hair and has bangs now. She looks older and bigger. _Weird_.

 

Someone clears their throat. He looks at the door.

 

“Umm..hey.”

 

James Buchanan 'Bucky" Barnes is inside the room. _What the heck is going on?_

* * *

 

Okay. It turns out— _fuck_ —it turns out, a year has passed. He was in coma after the snap. A years has passed. Maria spent a year without him. _A year has passed._

 

_A whole fucking year._

 

And it was James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes who explained everything to him.

Maria tells him that ‘ _Uncle Bucky_ ’ is the best.

O-kay. Well, first, a year has passed— _holy shit_ —which explains why Maria can speak more clearly now. But it doesn’t explain why she got close to Bucky.

 

“Uncle Bucky is cool! He has metal hand!” Maria states excitedly. She grabs Bucky’s hand and lifts it.

 

“See? See, Daddy!”

 

Uh-huh. That’s kinda... _cute_.

——————————-

“She’s a bright kiddo.” says Bucky. Maria left the room to find her Auntie Pepper. She insists that her daddy _be friends_ with Bucky before she left.

 

“Well, she got that from me.” Tony proudly claims.

 

“No doubt.” Bucky adds. He has a small smile on his face but it quickly vanishes. He appears to be holding back from something but he inhales deeply and speaks.

 

“Look, Stark, I—“

 

“Save it, Barnes.” Tony cuts him off. Bucky furrows his eyebrows and presses him mouth in a thin line.

 

“You don’t have to apologize. You were brainwashed for fuck’s sake.” Bucky doesn’t look at him. He keeps his gaze on the floor.

 

“Zemo did a great job of manipulating our emotions, I mean, I tried to kill you.”

 

“You saw me killing your parents, I understand why—“

 

“No, it was not _you_ who killed them.”

 

Bucky is startled, he lifts his gaze and looks at Tony.

 

“Ugh, look. I said this to Steve before: resentment is corrosive. I hate it.” Tony shrugs lightly then continues, “ _Winter Soldier_ killed my parents—you are Bucky Barnes, _not_ Winter Soldier.”

 

Bucky stares at him and slightly nods. Tony returns the gesture.

 

~~**_(Do you even remember them?)_ ** ~~

~~**_(I remember them all.)_ ** ~~

~~**** ~~

Resentment really is corrosive. He’s moving on now. They both are. _Let bygones be bygones._

* * *

 

A very significant event happened while Tony was in comatose. Ross had returned from being dusted and was again pushing for the Accords, spouting some _shit_ about arresting the other members of the Avengers.

 

Captain America shows up, along with the other Avengers who were labelled as criminals. (Lo and behold-- _Natasha is alive_! It turns out Thor was right all along!) They show up and they fight for the dissolution of the Accords.

 

And they win.

* * *

 

 

"Daddy, what if he doesn't like me?" Maria whispers anxiously.

 

Tony pats his child's hair and kisses her cheeks. Maria looks at him with her bright blue eyes, waiting for her father's response.

 

"His friends love you. They literally wanted to kidnap you from my arms, Maria." Tony grins at her. Maria starts to smile.

 

"Uncle Bucky says he's a good guy.” Maria twirls her hair, “and a-a fool.”

 

"Your uncle Bucky is right,” Tony hesitates but continues, ”Steve and I were both fools."

 

Maria holds his hands and gives it a squeeze. Tony gently squeezes her small hand back.

 

The wooden door opens and a tall, broad-shouldered man enters. His own blue eyes matches the little girl's.

 

"Steve, this is Maria. Our daughter."

* * *

 

**One Month Later**

While sorting his stuff, he comes across a hologram recording. Curious as to its contents, he looks around and sees Steve in the kitchen, busy making breakfast.

 

Blue light glows as he plays the hologram.

He sees himself, sitting on a chair, looking straight at him. He hears himself speak.

 

_“Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. “_

 

The hologram plays, and Tony watches himself say goodbye to the people he loves.

* * *

 

_“I love you three thousand.”_

 

The hologram recording ends.

 

“Tony! Food’s ready!” Steve calls out. Tony doesn’t immediately respond.

 

As he is about to turn off the hologram, Maria storms in to fetch him.

 

“We’re gonna eat, Daddy!” She takes his hand but pauses, she notices the hologram of his dad.

 

“Hi! We’re gonna eat now, bye!” She tells the hologram. Tony laughs and turns it off. He lets himself be dragged his daughter towards the dining room.

 

Steve greets them as they enter the room. Tony presses a soft kiss on Steve’s lips and smiles.

 

“Good Morning, beloved.”

 

They eat breakfast together. Steve informs him that Peter and Harley are coming for lunch. Maria shrieks excitedly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ...and, it's done. I had to get this out of my system!
> 
> Far From Home will probably wreck me. But, tumblr's blowing up with all these fantastic art and stories so I might just get by. Hah!
> 
> Thank you for reading. ❤


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